Upright: Swiftness an problem solving, an urge to take action, rapid change, flight
Reverse: Failure to act, frustration and delays, resistance
The original Rider-Waite design shows 8 wands being launched through the air symbolising flight, naturally this card should lend itself to a bird themed deck comfortably but I found it to be challenging.
My original inclination was to have a goose as this card, my favourite was the top candidate, the red-breasted goose as they’re beautiful and have a stunning flight profile.
It became quickly apparent that this bird while very enjoyable to draw, its personality and charm came across more in a closer profile. It just didn’t comfortably feel like the eight of wands.
I started to think about birds known for their flight and speed, peregrine falcons are one of the fastest birds, with a dive reaching 200mph when attacking prey.
Peregrine falcons also have such a rich cultural presence, the Egyptian Sun god Ra is depicted with the head of a peregrine falcon. The more I considered it the more obvious it felt that this bird be included in my deck, and that the Eight of Wands is quite a natural fit.
I’ve ended up with quite a different card than k initially planned and I also got to experiment with colour and mood a bit more. My other cards in Occult Ornithology have a more static feel to them, it was important to capture the speed and movement in the original card so I tried to create a card depicting movement and drama.
The Art of Katie Whittle 